Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane on VMoTeNbО/Al–Si–O catalysts: Effect of the support on the physicochemical and catalytic properties

Supported oxide catalysts of the overall composition V0.3Mo1Te0.23Nb0.12/nAl–Si–O (n = 0, 10, 25, 35, 50, and 70 wt %) were tested in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and were characterized by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The use of the Al–Si–O support in a wide range of its content (from 10 to 50 wt %) favors formation of nanodomains of the active М1 phase ensuring higher, compared to the bulk catalysts, activity in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. The formation of secondary phases of aluminum molybdate and vanadium–molybdenum double oxide, observed at the support content increased over 35 wt %, leads to worsening of the catalytic properties.